West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb Historic
District

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places February 5,
1998

Note: In several places in this text, there are references to
illustrations. At present, they are not available; we hope to add
them soon. Meanwhile, here is a map.

The West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb Historic District gains
its significance in the areas of Architecture and Community
Development, and represents the transformation of Philadelphia's
rural farmland into urban residential development, made possible
by the streetcar which provided easy access to Center City. From
1850-1930, the period of significance, the area evolved from a
fashionable, upper class, country retreat to a middle class
streetcar suburb, largely commissioned by speculative developers,
designed by some of the city's most prolific architects, and
occupied by a rising class of industrial managers and other
professionals. The period of significance marks the decades during
which the district took its shape, with the earliest developments
beginning in 1850 and the final period of significant construction
ending in 1930. The development pattern established in the
district closely paralleled transportation developments which
enabled the residents to live in the outer reaches of Philadelphia
which were made accessible by the horsecar and later streetcar
lines. The district also reflects the demand for housing created
by several major institutions which located in or near the
district. Hence the district is significant under Criterion A for
community development. Herein lies one of Philadelphia's finest
collections of mid to late nineteenth and early twentieth century
predominantly residential architecture and thus also meets
National Register Criterion C.

SUMMARY HISTORY OF DISTRICT

William Penn's plan for the area west of the Schuylkill River
left this area as free land, without municipal control, and
essentially open to development.(see footnote 1) In consequence, a
series of small, independent villages grew in West Philadelphia,
which remained essentially isolated from the city center, a result
of the physical barrier of the Schuylkill, and the difficulty in
crossing the river in the eighteenth century.

The section of West Philadelphia comprising the district was
divided at an early date into the townships of Blockley and
Kingsessing. Mill Creek served as the boundary line, with
Kingsessing on the western bank and Blockley to the east. Mill
Creek is a fast flowing waterway that rises in Montgomery County
and meanders through West Philadelphia, emptying into the
Schuylkill near 43rd Street.

Early industry in West Philadelphia was largely concentrated in
two areas outside of the district's boundaries, the area around
present day 30th and Market Streets, and the area to the south in
Malinsville.(2) While industry was scarce
within the bounds of the district, Mill Creek which wound through
the district served the many mills located along its banks in the
nearby villages. Mill Creek was dammed at the location of present
day Clark Park (4300-4400 Baltimore Avenue) to provide water power
for the mills in Malinsville. A large depression in the park marks
the location of the former reservoir. When the mills closed in the
1860s, the reservoir became a dump until it was taken over by the
City Parks Association in 1900.

While the rolling farmland on the western bank of the
Schuylkill River was virtually inaccessible to Philadelphians,
aside from the few ferries which were notably infrequent and
undependable, the river scenery and the banks of the Schuylkill
were long noted for their picturesque beauty and West Philadelphia
was recognized for its numerous habitable attributes, namely the
wide expanse of farmland, the high ground, and the close proximity
to Philadelphia despite the impasse. Thus, in the eighteenth
century, wealthy Philadelphians began to build their country
estates in the eastern section of the district in an effort to
escape the hot, congested, disease ridden city.(3)

The location of present day 30th and Market Streets (northeast
of the district boundary) was the site of river crossings from an
early date, a consequence of the low, flat land. The erection of
the first permanent bridge across the Schuylkill at Market Street
in 1805, essentially broke West Philadelphia's rural isolation and
the district was ripe for development.(4)

Improvements in transportation routes coupled with the widely
circulated writings of Andrew Jackson Downing and other supporters
of the suburban movement, prompted many of Philadelphia's most
notable residents to build suburban villas in the farmland on the
western riverbank. Intrinsic to Downing's philosophies was the
importance of landscape design and the picturesque
juxtapositioning of the built and natural environments. The
district's earliest houses, the immense brownstone single and
double houses, gave the community the suburban charm that had
become sought-after by Philadelphians.

Concurrent with the upper middle class movement into these
suburban villas, was the settlement of a black community in more
modest housing in the district's northeastern boundary,
specifically the area around 41st and Ludlow Streets.

Overlapping the district's eastern edge, William Hamilton's c.
1804 "Hamiltonville" was probably the earliest attempt at
speculative development in the district. Roughly bounded by 33rd
and 41st Streets, Market Street and Woodland Avenue, the earliest
buildings of this village have long since disappeared, though the
term "Hamiltonville" lingers amongst the district's
residents.

In 1840, the Borough of West Philadelphia was formed, a system
which lasted only until 1854 with Philadelphia's Act of
Consolidation, which brought West Philadelphia under city control
and transformed the suburb into an urban neighborhood. When the
Commissioners issued their "Digest of Ordinances" in 1852, the
compiler noted that "Hamiltonville," was regarded as one of the
most pleasant villages in the Philadelphia area,

"Its plan is regular and the streets...are wide...The
buildings...generally stand apart from each other, leaving
garden spaces between them...[It] is probably the
prettiest village in the neighborhood of Philadelphia...As a
place of residence, it may safely be said, that no other
location in the vicinity offers superior attractions. The
ground in general is elevated and remarkably healthy; the
streets are wide, and many of them bordered with rows of
handsome shade trees; and a large portion of the District has
been covered with costly and highly ornamental dwellings. New
streets are being opened, graded and paved; footwalks have been
laid and gas introduced, and arrangements will soon be made for
an ample supply of water. Omnibus lines have been established,
which run constantly, day and evening, thus enabling its
residents to transact business in the City of Philadelphia and
adjoining districts without inconvenience. A number of wealthy
and influential citizens now reside in the District, and there
is every indication that the tide of population will flow into
it with unexampled lapidity. Provision by law has been made for
the erection of two additional bridges over the Schuylkill, and
these will provide facility and convenience to the great amount
of travel and intercommunication which the present avenues are
inadequate to accommodate."(5)

Shortly after the "Digest of Ordinances" was written, the first
substantial development in the district, Hamilton Terrace, was
erected on the western side of S. 41st Street between Baltimore
Avenue and Chester Avenue. Samuel Harrison, a tile manufacturer,
and Nathaniel B. Browne, a lawyer, bought a tract of farmland at
the western edge of Hamiltonville, and commissioned Samuel Sloan
to design a grouping of single and semi-detached houses. Samuel
Sloan was trained as a carpenter in nearby Chester County, and it
is believed that he came to Philadelphia to work on John
Haviland's Eastern State Penitentiary. Early in his career, Sloan
began to publish a series of books that would make him one of the
most prolific contributors to the romantic movement of his era.
While in a partnership with fellow carpenter John Stewart, Sloan
designed numerous Gothic and Italianate villas, a large number of
which are located in the district. Sloan sought to evoke the image
of the romantic picturesque house in keeping with the ideals
espoused by Andrew Jackson Downing in the 1840s.(6) Sloan's 1856
design for Harrison and Browne, Hamilton Terrace, was an
architectural composition of five Gothic Revival and Italianate
houses, of which only two twins remain (see photograph 1). Sloan
was instrumental in establishing the architectural pattern for the
earliest developments in the district and his influence on his
contemporaries is evident in the earliest surviving
buildings.

Another early development, known as the Hamilton Family Estate
(National Register, 1979), is comprised of the houses on the south
side of the 4000 block of Pine Street as well as 4039 and 4041
Baltimore Avenue (see photograph 2). Prior to 1851 this property
remained in the hands of William Hamilton's estate. In 1851 the
heirs sold the property to Jacob Knorr, a descendant of the
builder of Cliveden, home of the Chew family in Germantown.(7)
Knorr divided the block into lots and sold the lots in 1852 with
the condition that "substantial stone or brick buildings" be
erected. The houses in this grouping are primarily three-story
Italianate buildings, that together reflect a unified composition
that links the houses by material, decorative detail, and
form.

With the success of these early developments, real estate agent
Charles M.S. Leslie initiated the development of Woodland Terrace
(National Register, 1971) which contains large semi-detached
dwellings, carefully disguised to appear as single dwellings by
the use of a variety of devices including towers, porches and roof
pitches (see photograph 3). It is believed that Leslie retained
the services of Samuel Sloan for the Woodland Terrace commission,
a notion based on the stylistic similarities to the Hamilton
Terrace residences, coupled with the fact that Sloan's office was
located several doors from Leslie's on S. 4th
Street.(8) Leslie incorporated a clause
into the Woodland Terrace development (which was comprised of
three adjacent developments) to protect the residential nature,
"that no slaughterhouse, skin dressing house or engine house,
blacksmith shop or carpenter shop, glue, soap, candle or starch
manufactory or any other offensive occupation be
erected."(9)

Another grouping of houses representative of this early period
are the houses located on the east side of the 200 block of S.
42nd Street, between Locust and Spruce Streets, constructed by
John D. Jones in c. 1865 (see photograph 4).(10) Jones also
favored the Italianate style which epitomized the wealth and
sophistication that the buyers wished to emulate. The asymmetrical
facade with tall towers and wrap-around porches, successfully
disguises the semi-detached house, and gives the illusion of one
large villa.

In 1870, Robert Lindsay acquired land along the south side of
the 4200 block of Chester Avenue and built sixteen, Italianate,
brownstone, semi-detached houses, similar in form to the Woodland
Terrace houses, though notably reduced in lot size, and in scale
and detail (see photograph 19). The setback of these houses was
25' which allowed for generous front yards.

Beginning with the Blockley Almshouse which was constructed
near the Schuylkill in the 1830-1834, the nineteenth century
brought an increasing number of institutions within and adjoining
the district which played a significant role in the growth of this
largely residential district. The Almshouse was followed in the
mid to late nineteenth century by the Pennsylvania Hospital (44th
and Market Streets); Home for the Incurables (47th and Woodland);
Home for Indigent Widows and Single Women (36th and Chestnut
Streets); and the Penn Working Home for the Blind (36th and
Lancaster).(11) With the construction of each of these
institutions came an increased demand for additional housing for
the workers which developed within a short walk of the main
horsecar lines. During the Civil War, one of the country's largest
military hospitals, containing 4,500 beds, was constructed on a
hill near 44th and Baltimore Avenue, centrally located in the
district. Erected in 1863, the immense Satterlee Hospital extended
from a point below Baltimore Avenue (in present day Clark Park) in
a skewed rectangle, to a point northwest of 45th and Pine (see
figure 2). At the foot of 42nd Street there was a steamboat
landing where the sick and wounded Civil War soldiers were brought
and from there were carried in carts to Satterlee.(12) Housed on
its grounds were a massive two-story administration building
surrounded by thirty four barrack-style wards which are depicted
in a period lithograph.(13) Satterlee Hospital closed in 1865
having cared for over 60,000 soldiers. The immediate neighborhood
became known as "Satterlee Heights," a designation which survived
for a number of years.

During the mid-1870s, West Philadelphia saw continued intensive
development with the relocation to West Philadelphia of what was
to become the neighborhood's defining local institution, the
University of Pennsylvania. In its early years, the University was
a day school, with no provision for students. That policy changed
in the 1890s when wealthy alumni were persuaded to donate funds
for a dormitory for men, and the students began residing in West
Philadelphia. The campus grew incrementally over the next century,
from its core at 34th and Walnut Streets, to the present limits of
40th Street, just east of the district's boundaries.

Several forces were instrumental in shaping the developing
community in the 1870s and 1880s. By the mid 1860s, horsecar lines
had been established throughout the district which provided
accessible transportation across the recently constructed
Schuylkill bridges into Center City Philadelphia. Coupled with
these transportation improvements was a growing middle class
population that desired comfortable, affordable housing with
greenspace, a combination that was difficult to achieve in Center
City. The location of the institutions within and adjoining the
district's boundaries, provided a place of employment and thus
contributed to the migration of Philadelphians from Center City to
the outlying urban neighborhood. These forces served as a catalyst
for a second wave of development which was focused not on the
upper class clientele who sought suburban charm, but on the
growing middle class which included a rising class of industrial
managers.

With the success of the mid nineteenth century developments
located primarily east of 42nd Street, and with the burgeoning
need for new housing, developers began purchasing land west of
42nd Street. The developers that followed Harrison and Brown,
Jones, and Leslie, had a keener sense of the profit margins
possible with speculative development. Hence, by shrinking the lot
sizes, and building more compact, less ornate houses,
significantly greater earnings could be attained. The latter half
of the nineteenth century saw rapid residential growth in response
to the mass exodus of the new middle class from the older sections
of the city and the success of the speculative developers. It is
this second wave of development, after 1870, that forms the bulk
of the housing stock in the district.

Speculative development, the purchase of large tracts of land
by a single owner for subdivision, development, and sale to
individual owners, was responsible for the majority of
construction in the district. Temporary title was granted to the
contractor to serve as a lien, providing security against default
on payment by the developer. Upon completion of construction, the
builder would sell the development back to the speculator who
would then carry out the sale to individuals.

In 1873, Clarence Clark developed the north side of the 4000
block of Locust Street, deviating from the Italianate style which
had characterized the earlier developments in West Philadelphia
(see photograph 5). Clark's Locust Street development is comprised
of three-story, two-bay, brick, restrained Queen Anne rowhouses.
The streetscape is unified by 20' front yards, enclosed by
decorative iron fences. The success of this development was
largely attained by the melding of the suburban principles of
front porches and greenspace with the urban rowhouse form, thus
achieving profitable, yet desirable, middle class suburban
housing. Other similar developments followed which successfully
introduced urban density and architectural uniformity, concepts
which had been avoided in earlier decades.

As speculative building practices evolved, so did the
demographics of the inhabitants who were purchasing the houses.
These less elaborate and more compact houses strictly appealed to
the middle class. However, despite the mass speculative middle
class housing that was being erected, a number of Philadelphia's
families of wealth continued to choose West Philadelphia as the
location for their estates. Among those who settled in the
district was real estate developer Clarence Clark, whose handsome
mansion was surrounded by lavish grounds that extended from 42nd
to 43rd, and Locust to Spruce Streets, the site now occupied by
the former Divinity School. Charles M. Swain, the son of the
founder of the Public Ledger, and a noted newspaper editor, built
his estate at the corner of 45th and Spruce Streets in 1875,
presently the site of the University City Mews development.(14)
The loss of these estates in the early to mid twentieth century
further attests to the continued middle class development
pressures.

Subsequent architects mastered the use of the Queen Anne style
in rowhouse developments that followed Clarks' Locust Street row.
In the early 1880s, noted Philadelphia financier, Anthony J.
Drexel, developed several blocks in the vicinity of S. 40th Street
and Baltimore Avenue (Drexel Development Historic District,
National Register, 1982), including portions of the 3900 blocks of
Delancey, Pine and Baltimore, and the east side of S. 40th Street
(see photograph 20). These three-story, brick, Italianate, rows
have been attributed to the Philadelphia architectural firm of
G.W. and W.D. Hewitt.(15)

One of the Hewitt Brother's most noted examples is the 4206-18
Spruce Street row, designed in the Queen Anne style in 1887-1888
(see photograph 6). These seven, three-story, red brick rowhouses
are an exemplary display of the exuberance of the Queen Anne style
with their columned porches with decorative spindlework,
decorative brickwork and corbelling, steeply pitched gables with
fishscale slate shingles, turrets, balconies, and windows with a
single pane surrounded by small panes. This exquisite row is the
antithesis of the bucolic suburban villas designed by Sloan and
his contemporaries two decades earlier. This row stands as one of
the Hewitt brother's finest architectural compositions, a work
which would be imitated by aspiring architects in the following
decade.

The Hewitt brothers are credited with a number of other
developments in the district including 4200-26 Walnut Street,
420-34 S. 42nd Street, and St. Marks Square, the predecessors of
the Spruce Street row (see photographs 21, 22, 23).(16) Comparison
of these examples attests to the variety of interpretation
possible with Queen Anne rowhouse designs.

The 1890s commissions displayed an increased restraint in
detail, perhaps in anticipation of the upcoming Colonial Revival
period. Daniel Lindsay's development at 240-260 S. 44th Street (c.
1892), retained many of the characteristics of the earlier
developments such as the moulded bricks, corbelled cornice, and
stone sills, but at a much more limited execution (see photograph
24). Rather than portraying a single, unified composition, this
row displays a rhythmic pattern of similar house designs, which
provides some architectural interest in an otherwise unified row.

By the latter half of the 1890s and in the first decade of the
twentieth century, the Colonial Revival style gained favor among
the area's residents and the developments from this period reflect
this trend. Examples of these later developments include 4404-4410
Pine Street, 218-238 S. 44th Street, 110-124 S. 43rd Street, and
405-427 S. 43rd Street (see photographs 9, 25, 26, 27). Typical
Colonial Revival features incorporated into these designs include
symmetrical massing, classical columns, pediments, quoining,
dentils, and leaded glass windows.

In the 1890s, trolley lines were constructed along Chester and
Springfield Avenues, which allowed for the substantial extension
of the housing stock toward the south and west. Within a few
years, rows of buildings were constructed along Springfield,
Chester, and the adjacent cross streets. One such development was
the row of three-story Queen Anne/Colonial Revival brick twins
built in c. 1892 on the northwest side of the 4700 block of
Springfield Avenue (see photograph 28).

In the first few years of the twentieth century, William S.
Kimball developed a row of semi-detached houses at 4201-4225 Pine
Street (see photograph 10). These houses are typical of the early
twentieth century developments in the district and are unified by
rhythmic patterning of porch and gable features. The second story,
projecting, semi-hexagonal bay is incorporated into this design,
an element which defines the later rows.

Despite the mass speculative development undertakings during
this period, a need persisted for additional middle class housing.
In response, several large apartment buildings were constructed
throughout the district. The Stonehurst Apartments (419-425 S.
45th Street), was designed by A. Lynn Walker in c. 1900 in the
Romanesque Revival style (see photograph 12). Large apartment
houses such as the Stonehurst were constructed on nearly every
available tract in the district in the following
decades.

The development of Philadelphia followed the course of most
American cities at the turn of the 20th century. The continued
migration out of the center city in the direction established
during the last quarter of the nineteenth century was a pattern
that had completely reshaped most cities by 1920.(17) This
movement was hastened by the industrialization of older parts of
the city and the resulting pollution and slums.

With this movement, a need arose in the newly formed
neighborhoods, for residential support buildings and institutions.
In the first decade of the twentieth century, Henry Dagit's St.
Francis De Sales Roman Catholic Church was constructed at 47th and
Springfield Avenue (see photograph 16). Constructed of coursed,
rock-faced limestone ashlar with dressed marble and limestone
trim, the tiled Byzantine dome with arcaded lantern towers as a
beacon over the neighborhood. Furness and Evans' 1900 Protestant
Episcopal Church of the Atonement (St. Peters Church of Christ,
4624 Kingsessing Avenue) and R.G. Kennedy's 1891 Fourth
Presbyterian Church (1201-1209 S. 47th Street) were built to serve
those respective denominations (see photograph
30).

With the construction of the Market Street elevated rail line
in 1907, an even greater need for middle class housing was
evident. A number of four and five story apartment buildings were
constructed as a result of the increased demand for high density
housing, on what few lots remained undeveloped in the district.
Vastly different in character and style from the surrounding rows,
the apartment houses essentially maintained the overall scale of
the neighborhood due to the lot sizes that had been established in
the previous century.

Open space in the district remains limited to two parcels of
land, the existence of which can be credited to the foresight of
one individual, Clarence H. Clark. Clark's former estate (S. 42nd
between Locust and Spruce Streets), was demolished and the
majority of the land remains as open space shared with the former
Episcopal Divinity School buildings (see photograph 17). Designed
in 1922-1926 by Zantzinger, Borie & Medary, this campus
complex of six stone, Gothic Revival buildings, is largely
clustered on the eastern third of the block, allowing for a small
grove of mature trees and a large lawn to the west. Regarded as
one of the most significant college plans during its construction,
the campus consists of two residential scale buildings, a library,
chapel, a dormitory and classroom building, and a refectory
building with additional living quarters. The second, and larger
parcel of open space is Clark Park, named for Clarence Clark (see
photograph 31). Realizing the density of development and the lack
of greenspace, Clark deeded a portion of his property, bordered by
Baltimore Avenue and 43rd to 45th Streets, to the city, for use as
a park and dedicated to children. Amidst the trees, grass, and
meandering paths, the only known life-size statue of Charles
Dickens sits, with Little Nell, a character from his novel The
Old Curiosity Shop.(18)

On the outskirts of the district, where much of the undeveloped
land existed, larger apartment houses that spanned across many
lots were possible, yet these buildings were still generally
confined to the nineteenth century lot depths. The Netherlands
Apartment Building, 4300-4322 Chestnut Street, c. 1910, is a
representative example of the early apartment buildings in the
district (see photograph 13). Spanning twelve lots, the
Netherlands is a four-story, multi-bay brick and stone Colonial
Revival apartment building that is distinguished by oval windows,
decorative stone trim, and stone water table, belt course and
modillioned cornice.

The advent of the automobile and the opening of the "el" in the
spring of 1907 ignited another wave of speculative development
toward the west extending from the district's western boundary to
the city's boundary at 63rd Street. Instead of the commodious
semi-detached houses and distinctive mansions that defined the old
streetcar suburb, the western reaches of West Philadelphia were
built of endless rows of two-story dwellings with bay windows
above classical columned front porches.

To the northwest of the district is a large area which has been
designated as the Garden Court National Register Historic
District. Garden Court is largely comprised of two parcels of land
which remained in private hands until after World War I. Eli Price
and the estate of Anthony J. Drexel eventually sold their land to
local developers, most notably Clarence Siegal, and the
development rapidly commenced. What resulted was a collection of
Colonial Revival houses with Arts and Crafts influences, which
reflect the sophisticated tastes of post-war Philadelphians. For
the first time in West Philadelphia, garages were incorporated
into the housing development.(19) The Tudor and Spanish Revival
houses, and the Art Deco influenced apartment houses, were sited
on much larger lots, providing the generous greenspace that
defines the Garden Court district, and clearly defines the
northwest boundary of the streetcar suburb
district.

The final significant building period within the district
occurred in the 1920s in response to the changing fashions which
made the apartment a desirable mode of living. This generation of
development typically involved the demolition of late nineteenth
century rows for the construction of the larger, four or five
story apartment houses, which generally took the form of U-shaped
brick blocks with detailing concentrated at the entrance, belt
courses, and parapet. Chester Avenue boasts the greatest number of
these buildings. Nathan Litman developed the Royal Chester Court
(4601-4603 Chester Avenue) in 1927 (see photograph 15). This
massive five-story, thirteen-bay, U-shaped yellow brick building
contains commercial spaces along the first story. In the same
year, further down Chester Avenue, Max Bernhardt designed the
Winchester Apartments (4804-4806) for Barnet Rubin (see photograph
14). This four-story, eight-bay brick and half timber Tudor
Revival building reflects the propensity for the English-born
revivals that characterized developments in the 1920s and
1930s.

The depression and the ensuing war left the streetcar suburb
neighborhood devoid of the aristocracy that had established the
community and the conversion of their large mansion houses into
multiple family dwellings. Few of the 18th century vestiges
remained. The nearby Woodlands Mansion (immediately outside the
southeastern boundary) had been acquired and incorporated into the
Woodland Cemetery, assuring its preservation. The 18th century
Twadell Mansion (formerly along Baltimore Avenue between 45th and
46th Streets) and others were demolished in the early part of the
twentieth century.

The post World War II years brought significant changes to West
Philadelphia, notably around the university, which began to expand
under the impetus of Federal aid to higher education. The
university initiated a period of land acquisition which
essentially stretched the campus limits to 40th Street, thereby
razing numerous Hamiltonville vestiges. In turn, businesses sought
to secure the properties along the university's fringe and
converted the residences into shops and restaurants which catered
to the nearby university population. In many instances, the
nineteenth century buildings were demolished in favor of modern
commercial architecture. The conversion of 40th Street from a
predominantly residential street to a commercial thoroughfare,
broke the linkage between the district's buildings and the
architecture to the east which was designed by many of the
architects familiar to the district. West Philadelphia continued
to fall from favor as a middle class residential community, as the
automobile suburbs developed in the far western
suburbs.

EVOLVING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AS THE CATALYST FOR
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The development pattern of the district closely parallels the
advancements in transportation which made it possible for
residents to live in West Philadelphia and work in Center City. In
1850 the Pennsylvania Railroad began operations and acquired land
near present day 30th and Market Streets, which remains a
principal railroad depot in Philadelphia. The former West Chester
branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad forms a section of the
district's southwest boundary, and was the line which carried
passengers from 30th and Market through West Philadelphia to West
Chester, the county seat of Chester County. The railroad did much
to accelerate the growth of the further reaches of West
Philadelphia out to Cobbs Creek and also contributed to the growth
of the horsecar lines within the district which made local stops
allowing the district's residents accessible transportation to
Philadelphia and to the distant suburbs as well.

The residents of Harrison and Brown's Hamilton Terrace (1856),
initially relied on an omnibus line that ran from the foot of
Market Street in West Philadelphia across the river. In 1857 the
Chestnut Street Bridge was constructed, which may have served as
the catalyst for the development of Woodland Terrace (c. 1861),
and 225-235 S. 42nd Street (c. 1865). The following year, the
first horsecar came from Center City to a depot at 49th Street and
Woodland Avenue via the newly opened Chestnut Street bridge and
Darby Road (now Woodland Avenue), providing much improved service
to the residents of Hamilton Terrace. This marked the beginning of
the transformation from upper class country retreat to middle
class suburb.

In 1866, a second horsecar depot opened on Chestnut Street
between 41st and 42nd Streets.(20) In 1883 this terminal was
destroyed by fire, rebuilt, and the second and extant terminal was
erected (see photograph 32). From this depot, a route ran along
Chestnut Street, through Center City Philadelphia to the Delaware
River, and back, providing the impetus for additional development
opportunities in West Philadelphia.

In the wake of the transportation improvements, large scale
building activity began almost immediately. Semi-detached and
rowhouses were promptly constructed with the completion of the new
streetcar lines. East-west streets, the closest to the streetcar
lines, had the more expensive houses. More modest housing was
constructed on the north-south numbered
streets.(21)

Bridges were soon erected at Walnut Street, South Street, and
Gray's Ferry Avenue, and the river which had once been regarded as
the great impasse to Philadelphians was conquered. Shortly,
horsecar lines appeared crossing every bridge, so that a horsecar
was within a short walk of every house in the district. All lines
operated from either the 41st and Chestnut Street depot, or the
depot at 49th Street and Woodland Avenue.(22)

A transportation revolution made its debut in West Philadelphia
in 1894 with the introduction of the electric streetcar.(23) The
electric streetcar made the commute to Philadelphia significantly
shorter than the antiquated horsecars. Developers responded by
building vast tracts of housing to meet the growing demand. The
routes in West Philadelphia were extended into the far
Philadelphia suburbs of Chester and Media.

The electric streetcar was an immense success from its onset
and while numerous companies had begun operating lines, the cars
often could not meet the demand which resulted in congested
streets. The streetcar companies were consolidated in 1902 into
the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. One of the Rapid Transit's
first initiatives was the operation of subway service on the
Baltimore Avenue route from West Philadelphia to City Hall. By
1906 every other line in West Philadelphia became either "surface"
or "subway-surface."(24) These lines ran along the east-west grid
and were supplemented by a series of north-south trolley lines.
Thus, transportation was available within a two block walk of
every house in the district.

The Rapid Transit's second major initiative in West
Philadelphia was the construction of the subway-elevated (el)
railway which led from Center City to the westernmost reaches of
West Philadelphia and was the impetus for the large scale
development to the west. Developers built scores of rowhouses west
of the district in anticipation of the el, coupled with the advent
of the automobile, and by 1910 nearly every parcel of available
land out to 63rd Street was developed.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SIGNIFICANCE

The district survives as an intact and representative example
of a mid to late nineteenth/early twentieth century, upper/middle
class neighborhood, which as an entity characterizes the growth
and development of the city's urban neighborhoods. The forces that
shaped the development patterns in the district: transportation
improvements, the growth of the middle class population and their
desire for comfortable housing, and the settlement of important
public institutions in the city's outlying neighborhoods, were the
forces that transformed Philadelphia into a commuter
city.

The West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb Historic District
survives as an intact and representative example of a mid to late
nineteenth century/early twentieth century, upper/middle class
neighborhood which as an entity characterizes the growth and
development of Philadelphia and thus meets National Register
Criterion A.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

The district is distinctive in character and coherence, and is
distinguished from the adjacent blocks by scale, architectural
style, and integrity. The district possesses integrity of
location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and
association. Virtually all important American architectural styles
from 1850 through 1930 are represented in the district. Some
styles are represented by a particularly fine individual example,
others are represented by a group of properties, that as a whole,
exhibit the characteristics of the style. The district contains
representative examples of the work of some of the city's most
prolific architects, among whom include, Samuel Sloan, G.W. and
W.D. Hewitt, Frank Furness, Willis Hale, Horace Trumbauer, and
Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary.

The district is distinctive in character and coherence,
distinguishing it from the smaller, more modest houses to the
north and west. The district's buildings embody the distinctive
characteristics of several periods of construction and a number of
architectural styles, and therefore, also qualifies for the
National Register under Criterion C.

----------------

In 1832 the city purchased 187 acres of land from the Hamilton
heirs on which to locate what became known as the Blockley
Almshouse. This land was of little value as it was lowland that
sloped to the riverbank and contained numerous waterways and
marshes.(25) The facility was built and served as an almshouse,
city hospital, orphan asylum, and an insane asylum. This location
of the former institution occupies the land along the present day
eastern boundary. "Blockley" became a synonym for misery,
sordedness and suffering.

These early developments established the hierarchy of
development that was to follow in the next half-century, with the
most expensive and picturesque houses occupying the best sites on
corner lots and major thoroughfares, which were often those with
horsecar lines, with the lesser homes filling the side streets and
the middle of the blocks.

Most horsecar lines stopped at 43rd Street into the 1860s, and
thus, development rarely extended beyond that boundary during the
19th century. Despite the development east of 43rd Street, the
streets remained essentially unpaved into the 1850s and 1860s.

The development pattern of the district illustrates the upper
middle class desire for residential areas segregated from the
diversity of urban life in Center City. Restrictive covenants in
the deeds creating the subdivisions banned manufacturing and most
commercial uses (aside from Baltimore Avenue) and dictated other
design elements such as uniform setbacks. The result is a
homogeneous residential neighborhood.

In 1928 the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, which
had been established by a group of Quaker pharmacists in 1821, was
relocated to its present site at 43rd and Kingsessing, forming the
southeastern boundary of the district.

The horsecars likely began operations around 1852, but ran only
as far as 41st Street in the first decade of operation.(26)
Expansion of these lines seemingly began after the Civil War. By
1872 The Philadelphia City Horse Car Passenger Railway had a line
(green car, white lights) that ran from 22nd and Chestnut Streets,
across the bridge to 41st and Chestnut Streets where the original
terminal stables stood.(27) The Darby Passenger Railway operated
the depot that stood at 49th and Woodland Avenue and ran red cars
with white lights.

The revival styles reached their full stature in the early
twentieth century period, which began with a blending of the Queen
Anne with the Colonial Revival, followed by the exploration of
more eclectic revivals such as the Romanesque Revival,
Richardsonian Romanesque, French Renaissance, Renaissance Revival,
and Flemish Revival styles. Characteristic of these later
expressions is the use of more unique materials such as Roman or
Pompeiian brick, copper, and terra cotta.

A culvert was built over the creek in 1855 and is depicted in a
birdseye map of Satterlee Heights dating to c. 1865-1871 which
shows the path of the creek (essentially following 43rd Street),
and the ponds, as well as the culvert (see figure
2).(28)

One of the earliest maps of West Philadelphia is the Varle map
of 1796 which shows three main roads leading west from the ferry
at Market Street: the Lancaster Turnpike, the Darby Pike (now
Woodland Avenue), and Market Street.(29) In April 1811, the first
petitions were presented for the building of a turnpike along
Baltimore Road (Avenue), and permission was granted for the Philadelphia, Brandywine, and New London Turnpike Company to lay the route "over the road leading from the Schuylkill to
Darby, commonly called the Woodlands Road." An early turnpike
guidebook includes Hamiltonville as one of the first notable
points along the new pike.(30)

William Hamilton's c. 1804 "Hamiltonville" was probably the
earliest attempt at speculative development in the district.
Roughly bounded by 33rd and 41st Streets, Market Street and
Woodland Avenue, the early buildings of this village have long
since disappeared.

This report was prepared for the University City Historical
Society by Cynthia Rose. Partial funding for the project came from
a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commisssion.

1. West Philadelphia was not incorporated into the
City of Philadelphia until 1854. "Brief survey of development of
West Philadelphia," Clio Group, Inc. n.d. University City
Historical Society files, 1.
2. The mill town of Malinsville was located south of the district
in the vicinity of present-day 48th and Woodland Avenue. "Brief
survey of development of West Philadelphia," Clio Group, Inc.,
1.
3. "Spruce Hill Historic District," Philadelphia Register of
Historic Places, Rebecca Trumbull. Prepared for the Preservation
Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, December 1987. The Spruce Hill
Local Historic District Nomination was prepared in 1987, but had
not yet been approved in June 1997. The significance section of
the nomination provides an insightful analysis of the development
of the area, particularly of the early settlement period.
4. A ferry crossed the Schuylkill at Market Street prior to the
construction of the first permanent bridge. The bridge was
designed by Timothy Palmer and shortly after the opening of the
bridge a roof was added.
5. Joseph Jackson, America's Most Historic Highway: Market
Street, Philadelphia (Philadelphia: John Wanamaker, 1926).
6. "Spruce Hill Historic District," Rebecca Trumbull. Trumbull's
information on Hamilton Terrace and Woodland Terrace was extracted
from Roger Miller and Joseph Siry, "The Emerging Suburb: West
Philadelphia, 1850-1880." Pennsylvania History, Vol. XLVII,
No. 2 (April 1980).
7. "Hamilton Family Estate," National Register of Historic Places
Inventory - Nomination Form. George E. Thomas, Ph.D., Clio Group,
Inc. June 1978.
8. Miller and Siry, 117.
9. As published in Miller and Siry, 117. The aforesaid use
restriction was a clause that was not uncommon in nineteenth
century Philadelphia deeds.
10. Jones was trained as a carpenter and unlike Sloan, he failed
to make the transition to architect. Despite the success of the S.
42nd Street commissions, these were the last of six known
commissions. See, Sandra L. Tatman and Roger W. Moss, Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects:
1700-1930 (Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1985).
11. Richard J. Webster, Philadelphia Preserved: Catalog of the
Historic American Building Survey (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1976), 198.
12. M. Laffitte Vieira, West Philadelphia Illustrated: Early
History of West Philadelphia and Its Environs; Its People and Its
Historical Points (Philadelphia: Avil Printing Co., 1903),
180.
13. Trumbull includes a photocopy of the lithograph in the "Spruce
Hill Historic District" which is noted as originated from Frank
Taylor, Philadelphia in the Civil War, 1861-1865 (Philadelphia, 1913).
14. "Spruce Hill Historic District" Rebecca Trumbull. Trumbull
notes that Swain was one of West Philadelphia's most prominent
citizens and headed a number of Philadelphia's most significant
financial institutions.
15. Ibid., 46. See also, "Drexel Development Historic District,"
Carl E. Doebley, Clio Group, Inc., National Register of Historic
Places Inventory - Nomination Form, April 1981.
16. The aforesaid commissions were executed within a five year
period, very early in the brothers' partnership. See, Sandra L.
Tatman and Roger W. Moss, Biographical Dictionary.
17. Jonathan Barnett, The Elusive City: Five Centuries of
Design, Ambition and Miscalculation (New York: Harper &
Row Publishers, 1986), 107.
18. "Spruce Hill Historic District," Rebecca Trumbull.
19. "The Garden Court Zone (GC)," Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission, Comprehensive Historic Resource Survey - Zone
Form. n.d. Clio Group, Inc.
20. "Spruce Hill Historic District," Rebecca Trumbull. The Spruce
Hill district inventory lists the date for the first depot
building as c. 1862; the significance section more precisely dates
the buildings to 1866.
21. An observation recorded in Trumbull, "Spruce Hill Historic
District."
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Trumbull notes that Spruce Street provided surface transit;
Baltimore Avenue, subway-surface; Chester Avenue, surface;
Woodland Avenue, subway-surface.
25. Leon S. Rosenthal, Esq. notes in A History of
Philadelphia's University City. Philadelphia: Produced by the
Printing Office of the University of Pennsylvania for the West
Philadelphia Corporation, 1963, 20.
26. Leon S. Rosenthal, Esq., A History of Philadelphia's
University City, 53.
27. Ibid., 55.
28. The culvert has collapsed on numerous occasions, often
following heavy rains and has engulfed a handful of buildings. Of
note, this map also shows the location of a mill and mill related
buildings on the 4300 block of Spruce Street. Development is
sporadic on the map, though Jones' houses on the east side of the
200 block of S. 42nd Street appear. Three large, flat roofed
Italianate houses appear on the north side of the 4200 block of
Walnut Street, one of which is likely Sloan's 4207 Walnut. See,
"Satterlee Heights; Satterlee Hospital Grounds, 27th Ward, West
Philadelphia, c. 1865-1871." Philadelphia City Archives, Folder
#1397, Negative #23345.
29. Leon S. Rosenthal, Esq. notes in A History of
Philadelphia's University City, 13, that Darby Road dates to
1781.
30. John T. Faris, Old Roads Out Of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1917).